Andalucia, Spain

White flat-rooved buildings, largely built on hilltops around a castle ruin dating back to the Moors. A very large ornate Catholic church in the centre of town, usually built on the site of the old Mosque surrounded by smaller Catholic churches. Possibly a remaining synagogue. Streets and gardens lined with tart Seville Oranges which the Moors introduced for aesthetics and scent. The back lanes are narrow with glimpses of the surrounding hills.

The countryside is covered in olive groves interspersed with a patchwork of  grapes, avocados, citrus and vegetable greenhouses. Small herds of goats or sheep for milk and meat, horses for parading, donkeys and bulls for ring fighting. 

We have to confess our knowledge of Andalusia was scant before visiting. Yes, we knew a bit about the history, the major monuments such as the Mezquite and Alhambra, the white villages, etc., but beyond that our knowledge was limited.

Some of our highlights of Andalucía are: 

Cordoba

Cordoba most famous building is the Mezquita. It is a huge Mosque - Cathedral with multitudes of red and white arches, stone columns and spacious, dark interior. It is one of the world's greatest works of Islamic architecture, the Mezquita hints, of a refined age when Muslims, Jews and Christians lived side by side and enriched their city with a heady interaction of diverse, vibrant cultures.

The entry to the Mesquite is through a large courtyard, planted with its orange, palm and cypress trees. 

Once inside the Mezquita its architectural uniqueness becomes apparent.  It was a revolutionary building for its time. Earlier major Islamic buildings placed an emphasis on verticality, but the Mezquita was intended as a horizontal and simple space. To raise the ceiling high enough to create a sense of openness, inventive builders came up with the idea of a two-tier construction, using taller columns as a base and planting shorter ones on top. The covered area of the Mezquita is vast, nearly 14,440 sq metres.

At the end of the Islamic ownership of the Mezquita, it had 19 doors along its north side, filling it with light and yielding a sense of openness.

In the 1300’s the Moors were expelled from Cordoba and the mosque given to the Catholic church. The Christians blocked off most of the doors (and light) added 50 or so chapels around its perimeter and placed a large cathedral in the centre of the building. 

The cathedral alone took nearly 250 years to complete (1523–1766) and thus exhibits a range of architectural fashions, from plateresque and late Renaissance to extravagant Spanish baroque.

Medina Sidonia

Medina Sidonia is a beautiful white village. It has been inhabited for more than 3000 years. The town commenced as a Phoenician outpost, it then became an important Roman colony and regional capital of the Visigoth period. It then became a Moor enclave and later the seat of military orders for the Inquisition in 1440.

At the apex of the 300m high hill is the castle ruin which gives commanding  views of the surrounding hills covered with olive groves, citrus orchards, grapevines, cattle, goats, sheep and wind turbines.  The Atlantic coast and mountains are some 20km into the distance and are stunning. 

The main city church, Iglesia Mayor is a gothic renaissance 12th century church. The ornate altar pieces were a collection from other Spanish churches. They largely dated from the 16^th and 17^th century. In the church there was a bench of four chairs from which decisions were made during the inquisition.

  

The bell tower of the church with its four bells, all nearly 200 years old had an internal spiral staircase of some 75 steep steps, which we all walked up.

Being New Years Eve, the bars at lunch time were very busy. A band had set up in the main street and was playing Flamenco.  Not a tourist town, but a great place for an authentic experience of small town Spain.  

Vejer de la Frontera

Vejer de la Frontera has been described by some as the most beautiful town in Spain and yet isn't on the tourist route. It is a beautiful Andalusian-white hilltop town southeast of Cadiz. It overlooks Cape Trafalgar in the Straits of Gibraltar and is surrounded by farmland largely consisting of olive groves and wind turbines. The resident's aesthetic benefit derives from large seated terraces on each side of the hill. It was on one of these that we had a fabulous tapas lunch finished off by a glass of Pedro Ximenez. 

The town buildings with its narrow winding alleyways are almost entirely white with black or yellow trim. There are a few exceptions such as the ancient churches and castle which are made of stone and brick and the stunning brightly coloured tile fountain and clock in the main square. The church and castle date back to Moorish times (711-1248).

We can't comment on whether Vejer de la Frontera is or isn't the most beautiful town in Spain, but it is certainly up there in the list of most beautiful towns we have seen and is well worth a visit.